FAA tees up $875M AI tool to help manage air traffic congestion

The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) is implementing an $875 million AI tool, named SMART (Strategic Management of Airspace, Routes, and Trajectories), to help alleviate air traffic congestion. This cloud-based system leverages AI-driven forecasting to analyze various factors influencing U.S. flight movements, including airline schedules, weather patterns, airport acceptance rates, and airspace limitations. SMART is designed as a decision-support tool, identifying potential congestion and conflicts earlier than traditional methods and assisting air traffic controllers with decisions on departure times, reroutes, and timing at crucial points during a flight. The initial rollout of SMART is scheduled for September 21, 2026, in the Washington D.C. metropolitan area, encompassing Ronald Reagan Washington National, Washington Dulles International, and Baltimore/Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport. This targeted deployment will allow the FAA to validate the AI predictions against actual traffic flows before a broader national expansion. The 12-year contract for SMART was awarded to Boston-based Air Space Intelligence in June 2026.